The Secret of Strength
by Stupid but not Retarded
Summary: Long before Robin met the Teen Titans, his life was perfect until tragedy struck, leaving him with a haunting question. Now, years later, history threatens to repeat itself unless he finds the answer before he loses the person most precious to him. RobSta
1. The Calm Before The Storm

**Disclaimer**: Sue me all you want, but the fact remains that I do not own Teen Titans-not to mention I'm broke.

**Author's Note**: Okay, I don't keep up with the show a lot (stupid swimming lessons every frigging Saturday morning, my mom's really lost her mind this time) so please correct me if I make any mistakes, make the characters too OOC or leave out anything important! Right, now that we've got that over with, I'll shut up so my story can actually be read.

* * *

"_So, I guess this is goodbye then?"_

"_Yeah." _

_Neither child budged from where they stood. They gazed determinedly into each other's eyes, both fighting back the previous days' unshed tears. It wasn't until a charter bus pulled up to the stop did the second speaker, a young raven haired boy, slowly bent down to pick up his suitcases. His companion bit her lip as she watched him load them onto the bus._

"_Hey!" she finally cried._

_The boy whirled around in surprise but regained his composure with a quiet "Yeah?" He was met with a strong embrace, which he awkwardly returned with a pat onher back. _

"_D-Don't forget…okay?" she sniffled softly._

"_Wha-" _

"_Strength-what it is, what it isn't," she continued, not having heard the boy's interrupted inquiry. "That strength isn't determined…by the number of enemies you strike down, but-" _

_An irritated honk from the bus cut her off. "Hurry up kid, I've got a tight schedule to keep!" snarled the driver from the window. _

"_J-Just a minute!" pleaded the boy while slowly releasing his hold on his friend. "I gotta go now," he choked. Great, now he was crying, too. Before the girl could respond, he added, "Don't worry, I'll write as much as I can." Then he was on board the bus._

_In the distance,_ lightning crackled.

Robin sat up so quickly the cracking of his neck nearly deafened him. The sound of heavy breathing reached his ears and he was instantly on the alert, only realizing seconds later that it was just his own breath. He sighed with relief, "I must've fallen asleep while working again." As if in answer, the sound of thunder echoed in the starless night sky. He chuckled to himself, "Yeah, I thought it was weird Gotham would be storming on that day…"

The young hero frowned and grew silent. A strange emotion flickered in his eyes. "I'm so sorry Ray, for not being strong enough to protect you." he said quietly to himself. "If only-"

Suddenly the door to his room burst open and a certain Tamaranian's head popped in with an inhumanely wide smile on her face. "Robin! I am so glad you are awake!" exclaimed the red haired girl. "Cyborg and Beast Boy have found a film most grotesque that we simply must watch!" she cast a glance behind her at the soft blue light radiating from the common area. "Ooh! I think they are starting already! Let us go, Robin!"

And before the leader of the Teen Titans had a chance to fully process the alien's words, he was pulled by the wrist from his beloved desk and into the common area where the rest of the Titans currently lounged. "Hey man! You're just in time for-dun, dun dun!-_One Missed Call_!" beamed Cyborg from the DVD player.

"…Huh?" was all Robin could utter.

"That's exactly what I said." Raven drawled from her seat. She crossed her arms and sighed. "What's so good about a movie about cell phones that my meditation has to wait?"

She immediately regretted asking when an ecstatic Beast Boy burst out from behind her seat with a wide grin. "It isn't _just_ about cell phones! There's a lesson to this story!"

Raven smirked, "And what is that, oh great and wise Beast Boy?"

Seemingly out of nowhere, a flashlight was produced and turned on just under the boy's chin, creating an almost laughable effect to seem more intimidating. "Death cannot be put on hold." he hissed. Raven simply raised a brow before kicking him half-heartedly in the knees. Beast Boy fell to the ground on his behind with a yelp. "What was that for?" he pouted.

His words were soon ignored when Cyborg happily announced the movie was ready to start and sped to the kitchen for the popcorn he'd prepared earlier. Starfire led Robin to one side of the long couch, still smiling like a child who had just been informed Christmas will begin to take place every week. _But that's what makes her cute_, thought Robin. He mentally slapped himself seconds later upon realizing he actually used such a disgusting word like "cute" to describe a friend.

"Come Robin, let us sit here!" Starfire chirped, sitting down herself when she reached her destination.

Robin, now fully awake and very aware of the situation, reluctantly shook his head. "Look, I've still got a lot of work to do. Why don't you guys start without me? I should be done in half an hour." Yet deep down, he knew that he wouldn't even be halfway finished until one hour later. He hated lying to his friends and making them worry, but it was something that just had to be done.

Starfire's face fell. "But Robin, you never finish your work at the time you say you will." Robin cringed. Well, so much for keeping that a secret. "We hardly ever spend time together…"

"Yes we do!" Robin retorted weakly.

"…having fun!" Starfire looked as if she would cry any minute. The thought made Robin's stomach twist. "Please Robin? Your work is not going to go anywhere, you can do it at another time, can you not?" she begged softly, gently taking a hold of Robin's hand in both of hers. Almost immediately, Robin crumbled.

He sighed and reluctantly answered, "Fine, but just for tonight."

Starfire cheered and hugged him, completely oblivious to the blush on the other's face. "I am so happy you agree Robin!" The Boy Wonder vaguely took note of Beast Boy's snicker accompanied with Raven's muttering, which sounded suspiciously like "Men!" At the moment, he couldn't really care. Even if Starfire was prone to be more emotional than the average human, he felt his heart lighten a little at the thought that she would care so much about him.

Cyborg returned with the large bag of popcorns just as the credits in the beginning of the movie finished. "Oh good, I didn't miss anything!"

Beast Boy chuckled, "Nope, not at all." He spared a mischievous glance at his leader, who shot back with a cold glare. It was then Beast Boy remembered a quote Raven once told him, something along the lines of "if looks could kill…"

Once Cyborg was sitting contentedly in the middle (he did have the popcorn after all), all five teenagers focused their attention on the wide screen plasma television set. It started off with a shot of a group of college students at a restaurant chatting happily together.

TT

"Have…I not…paid enough…yet?" came a raspy voice from the shadows.

It was slowly beginning to rain, but a cloaked figure standing on the border of the bridge overlooking the Titan Tower made no acknowledgement to it. "Yes, I suppose you have." he replied coolly.

"So…why…don't you…attack them?" the first voice asked, sounding furious and somewhat panicky.

"Because," the second figure declared, "It is too early. Have patience, Miss. You will have your revenge soon." And with an elegant sweep of his cape, he whirled around and was swallowed by the darkness.

TT

"Why?" the female protagonist asked fearfully.

By now, Cyborg and Beast Boy were holding onto each other as tightly as their arms would allow, staring at the screen in horror. Raven sat with her arms crossed and gazed at the screen with a blank expression on her pale face. She simply yawned when a bloodcurdling scream echoed from the speakers, sparing a disinterested glance at Beast Boy, who had taken refuge behind the couch, and Cyborg, who squealed in terror.

Meanwhile, Robin sat frozen at his seat. It wasn't that he was scared, just uncomfortable.

Yeah, right. That was as true as Beast Boy eating roast pork without hesitation and Raven singing Hilary Duff anytime soon.

Robin glanced down at Starfire, who clung tightly to his arm while staring wide-eyed as the zombie girl what's-her-name stood over the male protagonist with a knife in her hand and a maniacal smile on her face. There went this night's chances of sleeping peacefully. However, he thought as Starfire's grip tightened, this is worth it. Shallow, he knew, but nobody in the world was perfect.

A loud knock disrupted his chain of thoughts, not to mention snapping everyone else from the movie. "Y-Y-You don't suppose i-it's her," Beast Boy gestured toward the large screen TV behind him. "Do you?" he whispered.

"Well, only one way to find out." Robin said, getting up from his seat and heading to the door, which now resounded with even louder knocks.

"Robin, please do not go alone! What if Beast Boy is right and our visitor is really a Gordonian disguised as a corpse of a dead girl?" Starfire exclaimed. Robin couldn't help the small smile that made its way to his face.

"I'll be fine Star, and it's not like you guys won't be here to help me."

He opened the door, only to be thrown back by a gloved hand. Robin's body skidded across the common area and nearly hit the couch if it weren't for Starfire's quick reflexes. "Are you alright?" she asked worriedly as she gently set him on the ground.

"Relax, he'll be fine. Unless he can't give me a reason as to why-after _three frigging years_-he still hasn't written." came a feminine voice that commanded respect. The other Titans instantly jumped up, prepared to fire the newcomer.

Robin froze. _It can't be…_

The team's 'visitor' stepped out of the hallway, revealing herself dressed in a gothic dress similar to Victorian era style and wearing outrageously high black platform boots. She produced a massive scythe from behind and readied it. "Be careful guys! That thing looks like it's been sharpened recently!" cried Cyborg as he took aim with his Sonic Cannon.

The girl smirked, dashing straight past him and appearing in front of Robin. She raised the scythe in the air…

"NO!" screamed Starfire.

…and whacked the boy's head with the butt of her weapon. "Start talking Drami-_now_."

* * *

Wow, this chapter came out longer than I hoped. Anyway, in case this issue needs clearing up, it is RobStar all the way! 

Oh yeah, and I have a challenge for all you readers! The first person to tell me what the original title of the horror movie is will get a preview of the second chapter and help me come up with a name for it! Please put your e-mail in the reviews if you're reviewing anonymously.

Now without further adieu, please review! Constructive criticisms are welcomed and flames will be used to incinerate my school notes!


	2. A Brush With The Past

**Disclaimer**: One day, when Warner Bros. isn't looking…

**Warnings for this chapter**: A bit of coarse language

**AN**: Wow, for 104 hits, I was kind of expecting a little more than just 5 reviews. But then again, beggars can't be choosers. A big thank you to Ranmawho1, Saphire Night, samuraigirl11213, longhairedhorse, and MyMonkeyIsOrange!

Okay, before you continue reading, I'd like to address something samuraigirl11213 pointed out. Yes, I am aware of Robin's real name, but there is a reason why our new mystery girl calls him Drami. And that will be (somewhat) revealed in this chapter. Thanks for pointing that out! I hope this clears up some confusion.

By the way, in answer to my challenge last chapter, the Japanese name of the horror movie is _Chakushin Ari_.

* * *

Previously on The Secret of Strength…

_The team's 'visitor' stepped out of the hallway, revealing herself dressed in a gothic dress similar to Victorian era style and wearing outrageously high black platform boots. She produced a massive scythe from behind and readied it. "Be careful guys! That thing looks like it's been sharpened recently!" cried Cyborg as he took aim with his Sonic Cannon._

_The girl smirked, dashing straight past him and appearing in front of Robin. She raised the scythe in the air…_

"_NO!" screamed Starfire._

…_and whacked the boy's head with the butt of her weapon. "Start talking Drami-_now_."_

Robin stared, blinked, stared some more, then finally opened his mouth.

"You dyed your hair blood red."

Of all the things the Titans leader could say, that was certainly at the bottom of the things expected of him. Even Raven faltered a little. "Um, dude? That is _not_ exactly the wisest thing to say to a giant scythe-wielding chick." Beast Boy called out.

The girl snorted, "Yeah, but it's nice to know that you haven't totally forgotten me." She suddenly smiled, revealing subtle canine teeth. "Missed me, Drami?"

Robin blinked again before breaking out in a smile too. He got up and scoffed, "As if." Nonetheless, the smile on his face didn't waver and he-much to the surprise of his comrades-embraced the girl in a tight hug. Starfire's emerald eyes widened considerably, _Robin _never_ hugs anyone_. The alien looked away with a flush on her cheeks.

Cyborg emitted a dry cough a while later. "I hate to break up this moment but, who are you and how the heck can you carry around a scythe nearly twice your size?"

The girl chuckled and released Robin. "Whoops, sorry, forgot my manners for a minute." She turned to face the Titans. "My name is Anna Wicke, Gotham cow born and bred. It's a pleasure to meet you guys!" she did a friendly mock curtsy, which earned a chortle from Robin. She returned her attention to him with a smirk, "Damn, it feels good to finally say that."

"Your mother would go ballistic if she heard you-if she hasn't already." Robin teased. "She does know about your hair, right?"

Anna's mouth quivered for a second. "Right, about that…" she began slowly. Robin cast a quizzical look, to which she returned with a subtle shake of her head. None of the other Titans noticed.

"Well, any friend of Robin's is a friend of ours." Beast Boy exclaimed. He made his way to the crimson haired girl with his hand held out. Anna blinked then grinned and shook it enthusiastically.

"Same here. And I take it you're Beast Boy?" she inquired. The green boy nodded happily. "Then you must be Cyborg." Anna turned to face the half-man half-machine in question and shook his hand, too. "So, by process of elimination, that leaves a goth and an alien. I'll take a guess that the goth is Raven."

Raven cocked her brow in mild amusement but soon offered a small, genuine smile and shook the girl's hand. "Thankfully, yes." she joked. In the background, she could hear Beast Boy gasp, "Omigosh, did Raven just crack a joke? It's the end of the world!" He was quickly silenced by Cyborg, who cast an apologetic look at the two girls.

Anna moved on to Starfire, who tried to not look in the other girl's eyes, yet failing miserably. Her gaze was met with two stunning bright blue eyes that took a longer time to observe her compared to her other three companions. "And then there was one." Anna said softly. She stroked her chin and looked Starfire up and down, who blushed and looked away again. "Don't be shy! I'm not gay or anything, just a little surprised. I never thought that-oh, nevermind! How do you do, Starfire, I believe?"

The Tamaranian eyed the girl's hand suspiciously but shook it anyway, though very slowly. "It is an honor to meet a good friend of Robin's, who has yet to explain why he never spoke of you." Starfire's eyes narrowed into slits over Anna's shoulders. Robin gulped and began whistling loudly. "By the way," she asked, "Why do you call Robin 'Dray-me'?"

Anna burst into laughter while Robin scowled. "Well, to be honest, I don't really know myself. One day we were just bored so I decided to randomly mix up pronunciations in his name and-voila!-he was known as Drami from that day on. Come to think of it, I haven't addressed you with your real name for a long time, haven't I Drami?" she pondered.

"No, but I'd rather you do." Robin answered.

Anna laughed again, "Then I'll keep calling you just that…Drami." She yawned and stretched her arms. "Well, I'm really sorry for barging in you guys like this but I just moved here and need a place to stay; just for tonight! I'll be outta here by tomorrow if you like."

Cyborg and Beast Boy nodded enthusiastically. "You can stay for as long as you like!" offered Cyborg. "We've got a spare room down the hall. Allow me to grab your bags-"

"I don't have any."

Anna's voice quieted and, with the exception of Robin, the Titans looked from her to each other in confusion. "What do you mean, you don't have any bags?" asked Cyborg.

Laughter escaped from the girl's lips once more. "Funny thing about that…I'll tell you guys the story some other time. The only thing I've got with me is my good old scythe," she patted the weapon fondly, "And the clothes on my back."

This discovery was quickly shrugged off by the rest of the Titans as Cyborg guided her to the spare room. Raven and Beast Boy bid goodnight and headed off to their rooms. Starfire turned to Robin, folded her arms, and tapped her leg expectantly. Robin sighed, "Look, Star, it's not that I _wanted_ to keep Anna a secret but it just never came to mind she would actually travel all the way from Gotham to visit." Under his breath he muttered, "And not without a whole army of escorts either."

"What was that, Robin?" Starfire asked.

"Oh, it's nothing. Anyway, why don't you get some sleep? Who knows what a day it'll be tomorrow." suggested Robin with a hint of hope in his voice. Starfire hesitated but eventually nodded and headed to her room.

"Well, goodnight Robin. I hope that you will sleep well tonight."

"You too, Star." The doors shut momentarily before opening again. Starfire's head popped in from behind them.

"And Robin, exactly what did Miss Wicke mean when she said she was not gay?"

Her friend cleared his throat, trying very hard to will the blush away from his face and to keep from laughing. Sometimes, Starfire was just too adorable. Darn, not another annoying adjective… "Why don't you ask Raven? I doubt you'll get a clear answer from either Beast Boy or Cyborg."

Starfire nodded and smiled a little. "Okay, goodnight then Robin."

Once the doors finally closed, Robin turned off the TV and the DVD player. Listening to the horror music repeat in the menu was beginning to annoy him. He sat down and grabbed one of the magazines left on the table and flipped through it.

It wasn't until much later when the doors slid open and the sounds of footsteps echoing on the metal floor reached Robin's ears. Without looking up, he greeted the visitor. "So, mind telling me exactly why you're here, Anna? Your parents would never trust you to travel alone-nor would they let you a mile within a scythe of all things."

The girl plopped down on the couch beside him. Any sign of the playfulness she emitted earlier vanished, replaced with a weary and tragic face that looked much older than it really was. "Beer," she snapped. "NOW."

"Do you seriously think a bunch of fifteen year olds are going to own even a drop of alcohol? We're not called the _Teen _Titans for nothing, you know."

Anna looked straight in his eyes. Her bright blue eyes were cold as ice. "I don't care. Get me some beer before something unfortunate happens to one of your friends."

Robin chuckled, "Anna, I've known you since I was in preschool, your threats are not going to make me travel to the nearest convenience store-which is about two miles from the city's shore, by the way-and get you a Stella Artois or whatever. Besides, I doubt I'll be able to touch it if I go anyway."

Anna stared hard, then sighed and leaned back. "You're right, I guess I wouldn't." Robin observed his friend, she looked like she just ran a three marathons. This wasn't the Anna he knew, nor did he want to ever know. But due to circumstances, he thought as he hung his head, it was understandable. As if reading his mind, Anna suddenly said, "Mom, Dad, everyone back home is dead."

Robin started, "What? What do you mean _dead_? They can't be!" As much as he might dislike Anna's parents, he did grow up with her. It was difficult to grasp how somebody who clothed and fed you for the better part of your life would be dead. Just like that.

"Believe it kiddo, I saw it with my own eyes. You know how I got a hold of that scythe? I ran at least _two fucking hours_ to the cemetery and practically ripped apart one of those goddamn angels for this. Do you know why I had to run? _Because if I stayed in that fucking house one minute longer, I would've made three trips to hell and back by now._" Anna gasped for breath and looked down, hiding her face amidst her locks of black dyed hair. Her shoulders began moving rapidly up and down and Robin realized with alarm that she was crying.

Anna leaned on the boy's shoulder and sobbed uncontrollably. Robin, feeling a mix of nostalgia and adrenaline, awkwardly patted her back. "Shh, you're safe now. Don't worry Anna; everything's going to be fine. We'll track down whoever-"

"Oh, I know very well _who_ it is." Anna wiped her eyes. "What I don't know is, how."

"What do you mean?"

Anna wiped the tears from her eyes before reaching into one of the many pockets in her dress for a photograph cut out from a newspaper. "Our _murderer_" She spat the word like it was venom, "Struck a few times before finally coming to me." She passed the picture to Robin. "I'll give you one chance to figure it out."

Robin stared hard at the clipping. It showed a little boy around eleven-Robin gulped, memories he'd rather forget beginning to resurface-with a large, bloody 'X' shaped wound on his back. Judging by the way the boy was positioned, he was dead.

"_RAY!" a girl's voice screamed amidst the deranged laughter in the dark hallway. _

_A young boy ran to a motionless body and held it tightly in his arms after falling to his knees. "Come on, Ray! Wake up! You can't sleep now! Wake up! Why aren't you waking up?" He suddenly froze as he felt a trickle of warm liquid flow from the back of his friend onto his clothes. Bringing up one of his hands, he could see a dark red substance. It was blood._

"_It's no use little boy. Your precious friend died before he hit the ground. Do you know why?"_

"Because I wasn't strong enough to protect him…" murmured Robin.

Anna stared wide-eyed. Seconds later, she hit him on the upside of his head. "Get a _grip_ Drami! Read my lips; IT'S-NOT-YOUR-DAMN-FAULT. Neither of us could've done anything-"

"Opal…" continued Robin in a daze. He looked up at Anna with a hard look on his face. "But you destroyed her. How…?"

The girl scoffed, "Apparently, it wasn't enough." She ran a hand nervously through her long hair. "I'll give it to you straight Drami: She's back and definitely wants revenge." The two friends sat in silence to digest her words before Anna spoke again. "I never thought I'd ever miss Mom and Dad-especially not like this. Sure they were annoying and I hated their asses, but…"

"…They were family." Robin finished. "Yeah, I know what you mean."

Anna's eyes, if possible, seemed to harden even more. "Listen, I don't know if this means anything but-have you ever heard of someone called the Black Winged Angel?"

Robin scratched his head to think before shaking it. "No, should I?"

Anna smirked mischievously. "I don't know, maybe-maybe not."

"You haven't changed a bit since the last time I saw you."

"I'm glad you haven't either-no, actually, I'm not." Robin frowned. Anna looked thoughtfully at him, her eyes filled with worry. "Things change, Drami. While it may be hard, there are just some things you have to let go. I'd have thought you, of all people, would know that." She shook her head sadly. "But I guess you still haven't learned."

Robin's brows creased. "What are you talking about?" he inquired, but Anna had already gotten up and made her way to the window. She quietly opened it and stuck her legs out. Just before her upper body followed, she turned around and looked at Robin intently.

"That alien, Starfire, it'd be a shame to lose her-and not to just some speedster archer." Anna blew a kiss and winked at the scarlet red Titan before jumping out of the window entirely.

Instead of hearing a sickening thud, Robin only saw a dark figure jump from roof to roof with the hem of her dress fluttering behind. He shut the window and returned to his room with one name echoing through his mind.

_Ray…_

* * *

Okay, when I got up to the part where Anna mentions the "Black Winged Angel" I had intended to leave it as a cliffhanger. However, my muse was on overdrive so you lucky readers were treated to more interaction between our favorite human superhero and Anna. 

To those who might be wondering at the moment, yes, Anna is most certainly straight. More about that will come up in later chapters which-again, yes-will tie in with our mysterious Ray.

Well, you know the drill. Please review! Constructive criticisms are welcomed with-literally-open arms while flames will be used to make a bonfire in celebration for the summer!

P.S. It would be preferable if I can get at least 10 reviews, otherwise, we might not see chapter 3 for a while...

P.P.S. ...Just joking…

P.P.P.S. Or am I?


	3. Questions

**Disclaimer**: I wish.

**Warnings**: More coarse language on Anna's part

**Spoilers**: A bit from the episode "Go!"

**AN**: Ha! You all thought I'd abandoned this story huh? Well, I guess I did in a sense…Anyway, the point is I will be leaving for Hong Kong in approximately twenty-four hours therefore I have decided to put up the third chapter to keep people busy. Enjoy!

* * *

Previously on The Secret of Strength…

"_That alien, Starfire, it'd be a shame to lose her-and not to just some speedster archer." Anna blew a kiss and winked at the scarlet red Titan before jumping out of the window entirely._

_Instead of hearing a thud, Robin only saw a dark figure jump from roof to roof with her dress fluttering behind. He shut the window and returned to his room with one name echoing through his mind._

_Ray…_

Probably the last thing Raven would have thought she would be asked of by Starfire is, "What is gay?"

The other girl had risen with the sun to meditate before the usual buzz of the morning could start. She had been making good progress, too. That is, until her _dear_-she reminded herself through gritted teeth-friend interrupted her with that question. Although, thought Raven, it was to be expected of the cheerful alien princess. "Well, the word has a few different meanings although it generally means…" Here, Raven shuddered and tried to mentally prepare herself for the scarring word. "…_merriment,_ and all that crap."

"I do not understand. Does that mean Miss Wicke was not happy when she saw me?" questioned Starfire in a slightly worried voice.

Raven sighed, "No, no, that's just _one_ of the meanings of the word gay. I was just getting to the other one." Starfire emitted an "Oh!" before the dark-haired girl continued, "The other meaning refers to a homosexual person, particularly a man. Although as demonstrated last night, it can also be used to describe a homosexual woman."

Starfire blinked. "Homosexual?" she tilted her head slightly to the right.

Her comrade sighed in exasperation and brought a palm to her face. "It means someone who likes another person of the same gender." she said bluntly.

The Tamaranian princess blinked again. "Oh, so is that what you call it here on Earth?"

Now it was Raven's turn to stare with a mixture of curiosity and slight horror.

TT

When Anna returned to the Titan Tower, it was already ten o'clock. She quietly slipped in from the roof and tiptoed as quickly as she could to her bedroom. She almost reached it until a teasing voice suddenly called out, "And where do you think you're going?"

Anna whirled around with a gasp. _Damn, my senses suck these days._ "Um, I was just…well, you know…"

Cyborg smiled. "You were hoping you could get first dibs on breakfast first, didn't you?" He mistook Anna's astonished look and continued smugly, "Don't worry, I won't blab. Beast Boy does that all the time, although it's usually the tofu he steals…" Cyborg trailed off.

"Yes, of course!" chuckled Anna. She was glad Cyborg had not noticed she was heading _away_ from the kitchen area and to the untouched spare room.

"Well, you won't find anything in the fridge. Star used it all up last time to bake some celebratory Tamaranian food. It's safe to say our dinner that night didn't turn out quite as planned." said Cyborg. "Hey, what do you say we all go out for brunch and take you on a tour of our beautiful city? You're our guest, you know."

Anna thought for a moment before her lips etched into a grin. "That'll be awesome Cyborg! Just let me wash up, okay?"

The half-man half-machine grinned back. "No problem. I'll tell the others once they're awake." With that, he turned around, whistling a happy tune all the while.

Anna sighed with relief and hurried back to her room. She took a hasty shower and, once done, walked out to her room with only a towel to cover her body while drying her hair with another.

"Hello? Anna, you in there?" came Robin's voice from the other side of the door.

"Yeah, what's up Drami?" she answered.

"I got some extra clothes for you to wear. Do you mind me coming in?"

"Just open the door a little bit and slide them in."

"Okay."

Robin paused for a minute when, true to his word, slid open the door about two inches wide and placed the clothes at the door. "The rest of us are just getting up. We'll wait for you outside."

Anna had been about to express her gratitude when she actually saw what the Titan had left her. Her eyes widened in disbelief, then narrowed into slits equivalent to that of a tiger about to pounce on its prey. "DAMN IT DRAMI!" she screeched.

Less than five minutes later, the girl hurled herself into the common area where Robin, Cyborg, Starfire, Raven, and a still half asleep Beast Boy resided. She grabbed Robin by his collar and lifted him up to eye level. "_This better just be some sick joke, because let me tell you Drami, I am _not_ going out in public wearing this _disgusting piece of shit."

Robin tried to look as innocent as possible, failing miserably. "Sorry Drami, but that was all I could find. We can go shopping later on today if you want!"

Anna's eye twitched.

Robin soon found himself on the floor once more by a powerful punch. He rubbed his cheek. _Ow, she's gotten stronger…_ "Are you alright Robin?" asked Starfire fearfully, helping him off the floor. She turned to Anna with an accusatory glare. "What is so atrocious about your outfit that you must hurt Robin?" First, the girl had knocked him down for not writing. That may be understandable; Starfire knew that if Robin had to leave her yet didn't even try to contact her, she would be furious as well. However, to hurt him when he was simply trying to help her? Enough was enough! She was not going to stand by while someone precious to her was being harmed.

Anna sighed, "Starfire, what's the color of my shirt?"

The alien's eyes squinted a little and observed the other girl more closely. Anna was dressed in a pair of dark jeans and an oversized shirt. "It is pink. What is wrong with that color?"

Raven seemed to shudder a bit from where she was standing but other than that, remained as emotionless as ever. Anna snorted. "I _despise_ the color pink. Drami should know that better than anyone, yet…"

Starfire turned to Robin, who chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. "Well, I suppose that Miss Wicke does have a point. Robin, if you knew she would react as such, why did you give her that shirt?"

Robin sighed, "Other than the fact I really wanted to see what she would do, I don't have anymore extra shirts that would actually fit you." He cast an apologetic look at her. "Sorry Anna, I guess you're still not over that princess complex, huh?"

Anna scoffed, "You bet. I was lucky Mom hadn't shredded my other clothes back home and replaced them with all things frilly and pink." She allowed a small smile to creep to her lips anyway. "But apology accepted. Come on guys. Let's go before we get into anymore stupid fights. And I'm sorry, too-for overreacting."

As if in answer, Beast Boy's stomach chose that time to make a loud growl. He patted it with a chuckle. "Well, you heard the lady. Let's go!"

The Titans wandered around the city for a bit, with Cyborg and Beast Boy enthusiastically giving Anna almost a full history of everything in sight-including an arcade that opened up a couple weeks earlier. They eventually found an Italian restaurant that was beginning to serve lunch.

"Let's order a vegetarian pizza!" suggested Beast Boy.

"How about pepperoni?" prompted Cyborg.

"Dude, I'm a vegetarian, remember?"

"Well, that's your problem."

Starfire made an attempt to end their argument peacefully before things got out of control. "Perhaps we can order something else other than pizza? Maybe we can order some spaghetti?"

"NO!" Cyborg and Beast Boy screamed together. They instantly returned to their argument.

Raven sighed and just leaned back with her arms folded. "This is going to take a while." she told Anna, who nodded in amusement at the two boys.

Suddenly a blaring ambulance sped by with several police cars escorting it. "Dude, what's going on?" Beast Boy wondered aloud.

The waiter for the teenagers' table happened by at that moment to pick up their menus. "Don't you kids know? They finally caught the sociopath that's been hanging around this neighborhood for some time now." he said.

"But we did not hear anything about it." said Starfire slowly.

Robin nodded, "Yeah, that's because crimes like this are usually handled by the police."

The waiter nodded in understanding and cradled his chin thoughtfully. "Well, the guy appeared a month ago and if memory serves me right, he's killed twenty people." He nodded reassuringly at the Titans' gasps. "Yes, and just last night he tried to take advantage of a young woman. Now here's where things get a little fishy; the would-be victim claimed that she was saved by a vampire." Robin spared a brief glance at Anna, who took another calm sip of her water as if she hadn't noticed it.

"A vampire, you say?" Robin stated slowly.

"Oh, yes. And it's a female, too. Before the woman could thank her, the vampire just up and left, leaving a corpse behind. At this point, things get pretty messy. While it's hard to believe that vampires actually do exist, the corpse did have some unfamiliar bite marks on his neck." explained the man. "They're driving the body to the morgue for an autopsy right now." He finished by taking the menus and ambling to the kitchen.

All the Titans turned to Robin. "What do you say Robin? Should we lend the police a hand solving this mystery?" asked Cyborg.

"No."

Beast Boy's eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets. "WHAT? But _why_?" he cried.

Robin looked straight in his eyes. "At the moment, we should assume that the vampire is either on our side or, at the very most, neutral."

"I'd like to think that only criminals are her cup of tea," interrupted Anna calmly. "And I have a feeling if we don't bother her, she won't bother us. It's not smart to deal with monsters you aren't a hundred percent sure how to handle." She took another sip of her drink and grinned. "Besides, I doubt she'll be bothering anyone for a while."

Before any of the Titans could ask her why, she continued, "So, why don't you guys tell me about yourselves? Everything I know about you so far came from the news and, personally, I think that's all bull. Unless Beast Boy really is slightly unstable to randomly throw mud at a student attending Murakami High School." She giggled. Even Raven cracked a smirk.

Beast Boy groaned, "I am _not_ unstable ("Whatever.")-shut up Raven!-but I do have a story behind that."

Anna took one last sip of her drink. "Then tell me. In fact, all of you tell me."

The group passed the meal with each of the Titans, aside from Robin, telling their guest a bit about themselves, revealing new surprising secrets along the way. When they finished their brunch, Anna insisted they go shopping before heading back to the Tower. After all, she was definitely not going to walk around wearing an unbelievably disgusting pink shirt for the duration of her stay in Jump City.

In less than half an hour, she had two full shopping bags in each hand. Each of them was filled with clothes more gothic than the last. Also, surprisingly or non-surprisingly enough depending on how one looked at it, Raven bought similar clothes in some of the stores they visited. "Well," declared Beast Boy as he observed Raven and Anna-who had changed into black baggy pants and a black tank top that was connected by a chain to a dog collar around her neck-talking animatedly in front of them. "It looks like Raven finally found her new best friend." The other three Titans nodded in agreement.

"Wow, if I knew Jump City would have such cool shops, I would've runaway with Drami a long time ago." laughed Anna.

Raven raised a brow in confusion. "Runaway?" she asked.

Anna suddenly stopped, instantly realizing the impact of her words. "Shit…" she hissed under her breath. "Um, well, what happened was…" she began awkwardly.

"It's okay. You don't need to tell me if you don't want to." said Raven quickly. She knew how it felt to dwell in painful pasts and she wasn't about to inflict that pain on her friend.

Anna smiled in gratitude. "It's not that I don't want to tell you guys. I mean, you're Drami's friends, you deserve to know. But," she cast a worried glance over her shoulder where Starfire and Robin were laughing over an imitation that Starfire was doing. "It's not my place to say. He'll tell you when he's ready." To herself, she muttered, "Maybe when he finally learns what strength really is…"

Behind her, Robin finally stopped laughing and smiled softly at the Tamaranian. "Hey, Star, thanks for sticking up for me back there with Anna and the shirt. You really didn't have to."

Starfire smiled back. "It is fine, Robin! We are a team are we not? I just could not sit back while my closest friend is being harmed unjustly!"

Robin chuckled. _Starfire just called me her closest friend_, he thought with a mild blush on his face.

When he and Starfire first met, his instincts screamed at him to fight then, think later. He was a lot younger and definitely more inexperienced at that time. However, when Raven intervened with another way to sort their problem out without fighting, he had taken her words to heart and stopped. Then there was the kiss.

Admittedly, he enjoyed the kiss, despite the fact that it was his first one-and it had been stolen by a stranger, not to mention an alien. But it still remained as something he just didn't expect, something he had to find a solution to. Even after they teamed up, Starfire was still an enigma to him, a mystery he just couldn't solve. But after spending more time together and growing closer not just as teammates but as friends, his feelings took a little turn into 'like'. Maybe it was when the alien discovered she was engaged to some hideous…thing, but he knew his relationship with her was somewhat different than the others. He, Richard Dick Grayson, had a crush.

His first reaction was to shrug it off as something temporary, yet he found his feelings growing stronger almost every day. It was strange, almost to the point of frightening to feel that for the first time.

Robin froze, oblivious to the inquiring looks he was receiving from his friends. _What if_, he thought with a gulp, _this is…_

He was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts as a bloodcurdling scream echoed through the air, immediately followed by many others.

Pushing his ponderings to the back of his mind, Robin went on autopilot and shouted, "Titans, Go!"

* * *

Believe me, I tried resisting the urge to leave this chapter as a cliffhanger but if I made it any longer, we'd have one less chapter to go before the story ends.

Well, you all know what to do, please review! Seriously, I will update faster the more reviews I get, I live on them!


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